Week 8- Re-Training Each other Part 2

July 13, 2019

This week we finished training each other, and next week we will be “on our own.” However, since we are all still around, we can always ask questions if/when they arise. This week was only a small nursery check, so Carol went with Jessica and Emily on it, and Johnathan went out with Laura-Bethia and the Veracia team. I went with Evan and the Simus team on Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday. Wednesday, I went to a planting event with Jessica, Laura-Bethia went to a different planting site and Carol. Johnathan and Emily went with the Veracia team, and Evan went with the Simus team.

The Prolemur Simus team is led by Theoluc, he lives in the village just west of KAFS called Ambalahosy. There are seven Simus guides, including Theoluc, Rasolo, Mami, Delphan, Bertain, Hery, and Marula. All of the guides except Bertain and Marula speak excellent English. Bertain and Marula are newer to the Simus team, both having started less than a year ago. So far, I have only gone out with Theoluc, Mami, Hery, and Rasolo. I have met the others, and Evan has told me more about each of them. The majority of the time, we follow Lemur groups at Sangasanga, a mountain that is right next to Kianjavato.

There are about six Lemur groups at Sangasanga; West 1, West 2, Northwest 1, Northwest 2, East 1, East 2. These groups are sometimes mixed; usually, the ones with the same location in their names are found together, like Northwest 1 and Northwest 2 are typically found together. When the groups are found together, there are two dominant males in the group. Still, they both have ATS collars so that when the groups are separate, they can be located, at least that is the theory. Yet, when only one of the collars has working batteries, it can be challenging to find the group with the dead collar!

It is incredible to me how close some of the Greater Bamboo Lemurs get to us, I know they have been observed for at least 10 years, but still! They get close enough that if I were to take a step with my arm outstretched, I would touch them! I would never try to touch them, and I also doubt that they would let me touch them.

We followed a baby boy in the North West ½ group (NWI/II) on Friday. He spent the first part of the Follow sleeping with his mother. However, Cupid, the dominant male of the group, started chasing some of the females around, and that scared our follow individual off. We tried to follow him, but he was too fast.

We could not find our individual again, and if there are eight timestamps with OOS (Out Of Sight), then the protocol is to end the Follow. So, we went home early. Since the other team at Sangasanga was not finished yet and would not be for a few hours, the van was not going to come to get me, so Theoluc and I walked back together. He walked me as far as his village, Ambalahosy, and I continued the last ten minutes on my own.

Mami found a Brown Leaf Chameleon while we were trying to find our individual again. The Chameleon was so small and unusual! I have a soft spot in my heart for reptiles because I am not allergic to them!